The Language Nook – Le coin langues

How to use “so” and “such”

If you are learning English, maybe you think that so and such are a little confusing. You may sometimes use so instead of such and vice versa.
Don’t worry, you are not the only one! I can tell you that I regularly have studentsin my English classes who mix them up, too.

Let’s settle this issue straight away!

Why use them? So and such are very similar in meaning. You can combine them with a word to add emphasis, to stress the word you combine so or such with.

The difference between so and such is in the sentence structure you need to use.

Use so before an adjective or an adverb:

This video is so funny!

She’s so good at maths.

They draw so well!

You sing so beautifully.

He drives so slowly, I don’t know what time we’ll get there!

Careful! Note that if you use so in front of a comparative adjective, for example faster, you will need to add much to say so much faster.

I drive so much faster than you.

He sings so much better than me.

Use such in front of the article a or an and a noun, or a or an and an adjective with a noun. Note that such is usually used with nouns that convey something excessive or exceptional.

It was such a failure.

It’s such a shame!

It’s such an interesting place!

It’s such a perfect day.

There you are! You now know how to use so and such. Congratulations! 🙂